http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...-or-break-time

If rumours are to be believed, there are more than points at stake when Blackburn host Bolton in a Premier League bottom-two showdown on Tuesday night.

Spirits are low in both camps and the heat on Steve Kean and Owen Coyle is at boiling point after miserable runs of results, meaning it's make-or-break time for the Scottish managers.

Should the clash end in defeat for either side, reports claim the losing boss faces the lump of coal treatment with a fast-track pass to the exit door on the full-time whistle, while the winner will get the early Christmas present of some precious time to turn things around.

Beleaguered Kean is the favourite to get the shove, with the Rovers tactician having lost the support of the Ewood Park faithful weeks if not months ago, while even Blackburn's local paper is calling for his head.

His odds to be the next top-flight manager to go have been slashed to 1/2 by Sky Bet, with one national newspaper suggesting Alan Shearer is waiting in the wings to succeed him.

Kean, for his part, doggedly denies that his future hinges on Tuesday's result after "a real good conversation" with owners Venky's following Saturday's defeat by West Brom on the first year anniversary of his Rovers tenure.

The Scot is also adamant he won't walk despite the Rovers fans' pleas - which have thus far been ignored by the Indian chicken farmers.

But a campaign in the Lancashire Telegraph on Monday morning demanding Kean packs his bags regardless of how things play out against Bolton shows just how much those associated with the club want him gone.

Who will get the sack Owen Croyle or Steve Kean?